Chris Jordan pictures some shocking stats | Video on TED.com
I had to post this to my blog because it is just too mindblowing for me to not let as many people as I can watch this video and let it affect them like it did me. Here's the description from TED:
Artist Chris Jordan shows us an arresting view of what Western culture looks like. His supersized images picture some almost unimaginable statistics -- like the astonishing number of paper cups we use every single day.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
From then til' now
Since I have gone almost a year without posting on my long-lost-but-never-forgotten blog, I should probably explain shortly what it is that I have been doing since my last post. As was posted a long time ago, I was in Vladivostok, Russia for approx. 10 months. My thoughts since then have matured, my brain has since then matured, and therefore so has my character. I must also say that going to Russia(and to really stretch it going to Brazil) was the best decision of my life. Studying abroad and going to these countries showed me things, people, and languages that will never leave my mind. I can still picture perfectly looking up the street onto T-63 in Goiania and just as clearly remember the frozen rivers of Kamchatka. To be able to even see both of those places in one lifetime is truly remarkable and not every person on Earth can say he/she has or will have these experiences. I wish I could talk to every person that reads this in person because a text truly can only capture some of the emotion I have attached to this topic. But anyways, on to explaining what I did!
I remember one of the first weeks in Russia, I talked to my dear Australian friend, Elissa Pollock. We actually met while we were both on exchange to Brazil, but kept in touch over the years. When I talked to her, I was complaining(just like I was on my blog), telling her all the bad things that happened to me, and how I was just hating it. I also think(but am not too sure), she was one of the people whom I was telling that I was going to leave early. Thankfully, that never happened. But while we were talking, she told me about how her first month in Brazil sucked but the best thing about it is that if it starts bad, it can only get better and will. I knew she was right, and she was. After my first month, things were on an incline and I would say after the New Year things really started to come together. The week and a half or so in Kamchatka was the biggest turning point though. In the month of February, I started dating my Russian girlfriend who I am still dating to this day(wish me luck), and I also got to see some of the most beautiful nature in my life. I got to go dogsledding, and sledding, and see what I would really call a winter wonderland. For anyone who doesn't know, Kamchatka has approximately 9 months of winter, and LOTS of snow. It is actually the peninsula that is across from Alaska. So I was probably closer to home than Moscow. By the end of April, it was finally about 0 degrees Celcius, and my Russian studies were finally coming to fruition. I was starting to be able to hold conversations and get my points across in a clear way. The grammar was finally stuck in my mind and it was free sailing from there. The relationships I built all came to show me a lot about Russian life, and I definitely got to live well there. It was also in the spring(from maybe March to June), I made 4 tracks with some friends of mine(Andrei and Max). I don't even want to start on the host families, I will make a whole new post for that one. But to summarize the whole experience, my year abroad was important not only for learning about another culture, but learning about life and what it means to you. Like I've said many times, it was the best decision of my life.
I remember one of the first weeks in Russia, I talked to my dear Australian friend, Elissa Pollock. We actually met while we were both on exchange to Brazil, but kept in touch over the years. When I talked to her, I was complaining(just like I was on my blog), telling her all the bad things that happened to me, and how I was just hating it. I also think(but am not too sure), she was one of the people whom I was telling that I was going to leave early. Thankfully, that never happened. But while we were talking, she told me about how her first month in Brazil sucked but the best thing about it is that if it starts bad, it can only get better and will. I knew she was right, and she was. After my first month, things were on an incline and I would say after the New Year things really started to come together. The week and a half or so in Kamchatka was the biggest turning point though. In the month of February, I started dating my Russian girlfriend who I am still dating to this day(wish me luck), and I also got to see some of the most beautiful nature in my life. I got to go dogsledding, and sledding, and see what I would really call a winter wonderland. For anyone who doesn't know, Kamchatka has approximately 9 months of winter, and LOTS of snow. It is actually the peninsula that is across from Alaska. So I was probably closer to home than Moscow. By the end of April, it was finally about 0 degrees Celcius, and my Russian studies were finally coming to fruition. I was starting to be able to hold conversations and get my points across in a clear way. The grammar was finally stuck in my mind and it was free sailing from there. The relationships I built all came to show me a lot about Russian life, and I definitely got to live well there. It was also in the spring(from maybe March to June), I made 4 tracks with some friends of mine(Andrei and Max). I don't even want to start on the host families, I will make a whole new post for that one. But to summarize the whole experience, my year abroad was important not only for learning about another culture, but learning about life and what it means to you. Like I've said many times, it was the best decision of my life.
A great video I made in Russia
I also wanted to post a link to a rap song turned music video that features me with my friend Max, called Ghetto. I am really trying to spread it so please support it! It's got a pretty tight beat to it :) Here's the link to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-rd8hxvOEQ
It's time to start it back up!
I have returned from Russia, and already started college in Portland. I am on an endeavor to start learning Chinese, Urdu, and Arabic this year. I am also taking an Advanced Russian class but it is only 2 days a week and only a semester long. I am back on the grind and trying to get a whole lot of things done this year. I hope I can find some supporters and really lend help to a lot of people with what I do. Deuces.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Update: Oct. 22, 2009
It is Thursday Night in Vladivostok, and the temperature is currently around 45 degrees Fahrenheit. This has by far been a much better month than September, especially since that I now have a good group of friends and I can move around the city as I please. Classes at the University are going well, even though I need to do something about being in so many English classes. I'm meeting lots and lots of people now, and starting to use more Russian and less English(even though I definitely need to polish it a lot before I can brag). I am not experiencing any homesickness whatsoever, and in fact the only thing I miss is the love of my life Tiffany Svoboda, but that topic would take another few hours to elaborate on(I love you :) ). Anyways, I am starting on a Russian book that I got at the bookstore and even though I am only on the first page(I got it a few days ago and have had no time to really dig into it), I plan on gradually working my way through the whole book with the help of one of my English teachers. The book, that I currently can't think the name of, is a classical book so obviously there are lots of vocabulary problems, but I believe after I learn more it will get easier and easier. Next weekend, the exchange students are planning on going to Khabarovsk for Halloween, but depending on a lot of things it might happen or it might not. I am currently really enjoying Vladivostok so I have no problem with going or staying. I must go, but I will leave a more informative post soon. 1~
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